RWBY: Automata
by Umbreonwriter
Summary: Two worlds, separate but still tied together, collide once more, and Ozpin is forced to push forward a new hero to take his place. As Jaune is unknowingly thrust into this role, a single lone android descends upon Remnant, ignorant of what has happened but destined to fight alongside him. Shadows grow long as night approaches, and so to do the Grimm. Jaunex2B slow burn.
1. Chapter 1

RWBY: Automata

 **I got this idea in my head and it refuses to go away. I guess that's what I get for playing NieR: Automata the day of it's release. Oh well, it's a fun as fuck game so whatever right?**

 **Also, this is an obvious AU but it takes place during a supposed second year of Beacon, and I have not yet played through ALL of Automata, but just assume that 2B has her default gear, and her flight suit, and the first pod program.**

…

" _Generator offline._ _Emergency power boot up_ _sequence engaged."_

A silent facility suddenly came to life, emergency power started up after the long slumber. Lights slowly lit up throughout the dark facility, the dim lighting running down the halls that remained. Finally, the power restart reached the only remaining active YoRHa pod containing a shortwhite haired, young looking woman, her eyes closed, a tight black bodysuit closed on her athletic, sexy body.

As power light up the pod, the glass cover opened, admitting stale, dead and recycled air into the pod. The woman inside remained motionless, unresponsive to any sort of stimuli. It seemed all would remain like this, until the pod started humming loudly.

" _Diagnostic subroutine engaged."_ A quiet moment passed. _"Diagnostics complete. All systems nominal. Commencing YoRHa unit release."_ The girl within the pod gasped as consciousness awoke inside her, and she opened her eyes slowly, her sharp blue eyes taking five seconds to adjust to the dim light.

' _Too slow.'_ She mentally scolded herself before sitting up and removing herself from the pod station. She then realized that all of the other pods around her were dark and inactive, red errors appearing on the diagnostic screens. She looked around slowly, seeing very little else active, no terminals, no robotics, nothing. She blinked once before standing rigid at 1.5 meters, taking in all information before acting. If she was brought back into active duty… "Pod 042, report." She declared flatly, staring straight ahead as hissing came from a panel on the far wall, which opened to reveal a floating block with several appendages and a small antennae on it's head. It floated over to her and stayed perfectly still two feet in front of her. The drone was about half of her torso in overall size.

"Pod 042, reporting. All systems nominal. Establishing laser communications. Stand by." It beeped before falling quiet. The woman waited patiently, standing tall and folding her hands behind her back. Finally 042 continued, "Error! Alert: Laser communications down. Command unresponsive. Mission objective unclear." The Pod chirped as the woman registered and assessed the new information.

"Assume mission perimeters prior to shut down. Assign yourself to YoRHa No.2 Type B." She ordered, going off of what she assumed to be the logical conclusion. The Pod was silent before pinging in affirmative, acknowledging that it was now to support 2B in her mission. "Good. Prepare a flight suit in the hangar. I will acquire my weapons. Confirm."

"Affirmative. Acquiring armory access for YoRHa unit 2B. Acquired." Pod 042 chimed before turning and zipping away from 2B and into a damaged vent that was used for Pod's to move through the facility. 2B immediately made her way to the door leading into the main hall, and observed as it slowly opened, no doubt from the emergency power only maintaining the air, emergency lighting and only basic power to doors and the like. If she wasn't so rigid to the code, she would have frowned at the oddities she found. No other YoRHa units walked the halls, no Pod's were to be found zipping past with urgent mission findings, there was nothing. Just empty silence save for what little sound 2B's cloth covered footsteps gave off, but that was an avalanche of roaring noise due to the emptiness that presented itself.

Deciding she had had enough of being decidedly spooked, 2B jogged to the armory that her equipment had been placed and swiftly entered the room to find it even more dimly lit than the rooms she had passed. Closing her eyes to let them adjust quicker, 2B quickly approached where her locker was and input the code she had been given, popping it open and displaying her equipment. Time was of the essence, as she had a mission to complete, 2B strapped on her military visor and got out of her pod suit, exposing a pale, well endowed woman that practically shone with ghostly light in the dark room, her body flawless despite her time in combat. She grabbed a pair of panties and quickly put them on before grabbing her stockings and sliding them onto her long legs, the full black ends stopping halfway up her thighs.

She grabbed her long leather boots next but was interrupted by Pod 042 establishing a communications channel. "Laser communication with YoRHa No.2 Type B established. Reporting success; flight suit has been acquired and is still in combat ready condition." 2B slid her boots on, coming up to a little bit above her knees, and zipped them up before responding.

"Good. Ensure it's powered up, armed, and ready for atmospheric entry, 042." 2B replied, taking out her black and white elbow length gloves and quickly slid them on before taking out her black dress. "Also, lock down the facility as best as possible. No machines are allowed in, understood?"

"Understood 2B. YoRHa unit stations are locked down securely already, airlock is primed and ready. Will complete lock down in descending order of priority." Pod 042 reaffirmed before cutting the channel, and 2B nodded to herself before putting her uniform on, adjusting it so that it fit comfortably and wasn't exposing anything to enemy contact. 2B then took out two white single edged swords, one larger than the other and both possessing ribbons on the ends indicating their possessor. She quickly attached them both to her back as her uniforms built in holster program kicked in, creating golden rings around both of her weapons and holding them in place, the larger two handed one angled so the handle was poking over her shoulder and parallel to her head while the smaller, one handed blade was angled farther away, closer to the arm.

2B left the room as quickly as she had entered, her high heeled boots making much more noise than her suit, but she felt more...dare she say, comfortable in this outfit? She wasn't certain. It was no more than five minutes before she reached the hangar and saw dozens of flight suits in various states of disarray, ranging from a few pieces missing here and there to complete sections seemingly disconnected by force or torn off violently. She ran her gaze down the line of flight suits to find Pod 042 performing checks on one that still remained whole, somehow. What had caused all this chaos and yet was still so imprecise as this? Wordlessly, she approached the flight suit and unlocked it from it's carrier, the suit's locks opening as 042 flew next to her. "Flight suit fully operational and ready for use, 2B." The Pod reported plainly.

"Good. Get in and we will enter Earth's atmosphere." 2B ordered. 042 went into the flight suit, locking itself into the Pod unit the flight suit possessed. 2B took one more moment to look over the suit before she climbed into the suit herself, pressing her back into the exoskeleton as the clamps locked her limbs in place. She pressed her hands against the readers and woke up the flight suit, causing it to sag for a moment before registering her fully. The suit stood up in accordance with 2B's will and she moved it over to the airlock.

"Shall I close the airlock behind us, 2B?" 042's question caused her to stop and look behind her. There was no movement, no sound, nothing but the silent stillness that only Death could bring. She sighed before turning back to the airlock.

"Negative, 042. Shut down the air vents in the hangar and leave the airlock open. Lock down the rest of the station." She ordered firmly, moving the flight suit towards the airlock as 042 remotely shut down the air vents. She sighed silently before turning the suit into it's flight mode, the suit twisting slightly as a helmet locked over 2B's face, giving her access to slightly fresher air from the suit's supply.

"Facility locked down as best as possible. Airlock opening." 042 reported as the airlock began the cycling process. "2B...there are no life signs in the facility. Upon inspection, numerous sections are missing from the network. Reason is...unknown." 2B's eyes widened behind her visor. Why were some parts missing, she wondered as the airlock door finally opened, and she instinctively shot forward, launching herself out into the weightless gravity of the moon but as she twisted herself to get a view of the YoRHa facility and gasped at what she saw.

The moon was broken.

Half of the moon looked like a gigantic hand had smashed upon it, shattering part of it and sending pieces floating into empty space, now motionless. Worst of all, the YoRHa facility was destroyed as well. Parts of the once whole structure were completely missing, broken apart by the force that had shattered the moon. 2B was lucky, however, the part she had woken up in was on a shard of the shattered moon.

"042, what...happened to the facilities?" She asked quietly, horrified that humanity's creations had somehow constructed a force powerful enough to reach the moon.

"Unknown at present, 2B. It is highly probable that whatever had struck at the moon was unnatural, but no readings indicate the cause." 042 responded after a second, but it's analysis did little to assuage 2B's fears.

"We must hope that the humans on the base were able to make it back to Earth. We must search for them." She declared with finality and turned her flight suit towards the home planet and shot forward, angling towards the northern part of the largest continent that she could see. The world looked far different from the last time she had seen it, but there was no telling how long it had been.

As 2B entered the atmosphere and her flight unit was engulfed in heat from the entry, she thought over her new mission. _'Locate any humans that are left, discover the cause of the moon's destruction, and eliminate it.'_ 2B closed her eyes, determination set on her visage, though it was covered by the helmet.

She would not fail.

Ozpin adjusted his spectacles as he looked over Beacon's expense reports. This was most certainly a task better handled by another, usually Goodwitch, yet he felt he needed to be in his office for a reason. He wasn't sure why, but he had been having dreams of Remnant's ancient history, history that he had taken a part in, albeit in a previous life. "The curse of the Grimoires I suppose." Ozpin sighed before sipping his coffee. He had shaped Remnant into the world it was today, and had consequently created a separate reality as a result of his actions against a powerful foe. Many nights, Ozpin felt it was a mistake, but he had been forced to act, the project had been noble in it's goal, in a way, but it's means were abhorrent.

' _Is it any different then what I have done? Created schools in which our children and their children are taught to sacrifice themselves for the sake of others against an endless mass of creatures? Creatures created as a result of my actions?'_ This wasn't the first time Ozpin had questioned his own plans, but he had needed to do this, otherwise he risked the world he helped create be desecrated by the Grimm.

Ozpin stopped his reading when he felt a hum of energy from a hidden compartment in his desk, a compartment that held a very specific object, an object that had fallen into a slumber and was never to wake in this world. Unless…

Ozpin reached down and slid the false panel beside his drawers aside, revealing a book with black leather and beautiful silver designs adorning it, a sleeping, oval face modeled in the exact center. He brushed his fingertips against the silver artistry, and smiled ever so slightly when the eyes woke up slowly.

" **It has been some time...Ozpin."** The book's mouth did not move, but he heard the words nonetheless.

"Indeed it has, Weiss." Ozpin whispered as he picked up the book, pondering what would happen to Remnant now that the two worlds were meeting again. If Weiss was awake again, what else would come back?

 **And there you have it. It's not very clear, I know, but this can be considered a prologue. I'm really sorry if I messed up 2B's personality, she comes across as very robotic in her approach and mannerisms. That being said, I have had to put off playing Automata for a bit since Mass Effect: Andromeda just released. With work and potentially moving soon as well, I won't be updating much, but I will do the very best that I can.**

 **Hope you all enjoyed, and let me know what you think (Even though I know this is not going to get a lot of hits).**

 **Umbreonwriter**


	2. Chapter 2

Grimoire

 **Having gotten a lot of support for this, I've decided to start working on this with more determination. A few reviewers brought several things to my attention, and I want to address those. I was trying a bit of a new writing style, being more descriptive in a way, but it felt off to me, and it seems that many people agreed. So I'll rewrite the first chapter soon-ish to reflect my changes, fear not! Apologies for that all.**

 **Also, I am aware that Grimoire Weiss did canonically die at the end of NieR, but I'm somewhat retconning it. You'll see what I mean later on. Anyway, hope you guys enjoy.**

2B hated atmospheric entry.

The lurching, stomach dropping vertigo, the pressure, the heat, it all combined to make a very unpleasant experience. But she still did it, keeping her gaze straight ahead as she plummeted towards the planet. Sure enough, fire began to engulf her flight suit and 042 chimed into her ear. "Entering thermosphere." 2B grit her teeth and tightened her grip on the handles as her flight suit shook, not unusual. What was unusual was, a few moments later, her helmet's HUD picking up an energy scan this early on. She narrowed her eyes as she expanded the scanner, opening it to show the world map and the energy coming from a very specific area of the largest continent near the north.

"042, we are locking course to that unknown energy. It could be what destroyed the moon." 2B ordered as her suit shook again, causing her voice to hitch unintentionally.

"Entering mesosphere. Acknowledged, will alter course upon tropospheric entry." 042 affirmed, and they both fell silent, 2B looking over the map that was laid before her, trying to familiarize herself with the world's differences, but it soon proved a futile task. It was likely YoRHa units were unable to scout the regions, thus ensuring a severe lack of geographic information.

' _It is likely any humans would stay near the coast. The largest continent seems likely, but would they be centered around the meridian? The north seems non-beneficial, yet the energy source is in that region...'_ She was shook from her musings as she entered the stratosphere, but instead of her suit shaking, it stopped entirely and she began free falling. She was silent for a second as she registered the situation, her HUD falling completely dark. "042, report!" She barked, struggling to move the suit, but moving several hundreds of pounds of metal and tech was not an easy feat.

"The planet seems to have an invisible field surrounding it, it knocked out the suits electronic signatures. Start up sequence initializing." 042 answered her, but that brought her little comfort as she rather forcefully entered the troposphere, and she winced as the heat reached her; she was surprised it had been this long, honestly, but not unhappy with that. She looked up and saw fast incoming clouds, and as soon as she plummeted into them, the suit hummed to life and jerked violently, pushing her forward in her harness and snapping her back against the metal frame, sending ripples of pain through her body.

She hissed and brought the suit to a standstill, transforming it back to bi-pedal mode and hovering in the clouds. "042, status report? Any lasting damage?" 2B asked hesitantly, her own diagnostics coming up blank when she ran them.

"Negative, 2B. All systems running at optimal percentage, and fully functional. Recommend continuing towards the energy reading." 2B nodded and switched the suit back to flight mode and dove out of the clouds and heading towards a speck in the distance.

"042, magnify that area, what is it?" 2B ordered and watched as the scene in front of her magnified several times before giving her a view of what seemed to be a strangely designed castle near a cliff that dropped down into a forest. She raised an eyebrow; she was unfamiliar with any sort of area like that, especially a castle seemingly that well-kept. She increased her speed and tore across the sky towards her goal, oblivious to anything else which proved to be a slight mistake…

"Alert! Unidentified hostile approaching!" 042 rang out, shaking 2B from her reverie and she checked her suit's readings, only for something large to slam forcefully into the metal frame.

"042, ready combat programs!" 2B growled as she switched to the bi-pedal mode again and slashed at the gigantic creature with her energy sword. A loud screech sounded and she saw her offender was a large bird with a white mask and red lines dancing across it and white spikes decorating it's body as it flew out of her reach, unharmed.

"Affirmative 2B. Alert, more hostiles approaching. Recommend evasive tactics." 042 reported urgently and she saw it was right, there were more identical looking birds, all of them flying directly towards her.

"Then more come to die." She stated coldly and opened her suit's gun emplacements, tearing into the first attacker's wings.

 **XXXXX**

Jaune yawned, covering his mouth as best he could as his team and his friends walked towards the bullhead docks. It was the weekend, so they had no classes, and Ruby and Nora wanted to party, celebrating the near end of their second year, although Ruby wasn't old enough for the kind of partying Yang had alluded to wanting them to do. Currently, however, Ruby and Nora were talking loudly about their plans, but far to fast for him to catch what they were saying, and the bits he did get weren't making any sense. Pancakes, strawberries, syrup, and underwater fighting Grimm at the same time? He was obviously missing something.

Feeling something wrap around his arm, he looked down and saw the gauntlet covered arm of his partner, Pyrrha Nikos. She looked at him in concern and gripped his hoodie tightly. "Jaune, what's wrong?" He tilted his head in confusion.

"Um…what do you mean Pyrrha?"

"You have some far-off look in your eyes. Did you not sleep well? Are you sick?" Jaune sighed in irritation; while he knew Pyrrha meant well, it still annoyed him when the others fussed over him, like he was a fragile china doll or something that would break if anything happened to him. Granted, it had died off in the last year, but Pyrrha still insisted on doing it, and for the life of him he couldn't figure out why. He gently pulled his arm away from her grip.

"I'm fine Pyrrha. I was just thinking." A partial lie, yes, but he tried in vain to avoid her concern, but it just caused her to be more inquisitive.

"What about Jaune?" He panicked internally at her questioning gaze, even more when he realized that everyone else had started paying attention to the two of them. This had been happening a lot more recently and he wasn't sure he liked it.

' _Think Arc! Lie if you have to but say something!'_ Jaune yelled mentally before settling on, in hindsight, a very stupid subject. "Just thinking about the dance at the end of the year. Who am I going with, you know? Stuff like that." He chuckled nervously, hoping that the subject would put them off, but all it did was make Pyrrha even more interested and the others paying more attention. _'What the Oum damn hell is going on?'_

"You know Jaune, that question has a probably very easy solution..." Jaune groaned internally; she had been dropping these hints for a long while now, and though he was not as dense socially as he used to be, he was very unclear on what she was hinting towards. He was not even close to being bold enough to assume that Pyrrha liked him romantically, but that was all he could think of, so that likely wasn't it.

"W-well maybe, but I'll...you know, figure it out as I go. How I've always done things, right?" Jaune grinned, hoping it put on a confident air that he would stumble into progress as always. Before Pyrrha could interrupt again, Nora pointed up at the sky and started bouncing on her toes excitedly.

"Oh oh oh oh! Jaune-Jaune look!" This drew his attention reflexively, though knowing Nora it could have been anything that caught her attention. However, what he saw warranted observing, and when he didn't tear his gaze away, the others looked as well.

"Are those...Nevermore?" Ruby asked dumbly as several of the large Grimm were darting after something.

"Does anyone else hear gunfire?" Blake asked quietly, looking around them but refocusing her attention on the Grimm, her hand slowly inching towards Gambol Shroud on her back. Without warning, one of the Nevermore's head flew off and the body plummeted down, disintegrating on the way. From where it was, something silver and shiny flew away from the mass, with the Nevermore in hot pursuit.

Ruby narrowed her eyes as she tried to get a better view at what was chasing them, but it was too fast and she couldn't keep up as it swerved, bobbed and weaved around the Nevermore as it flew towards Beacon. "Five Nevermore...are they chasing some Atlas mech?" Ruby wondered out loud.

Weiss shook her head beside her, her ponytail swaying with the movement. "I highly doubt it. Atlas was never able to create an aerial unit that mobile. They could never get it right." Before she could continue, one of the Nevermore slammed into the thing, sending it careening towards the group. The eight friends moved away as best they could, however Jaune tripped over himself as he tried to backpedal and fell to the ground as the thing transformed and landed in front of him.

He moved his arms from in front of his face and looked up at it to see some kind of metal armor with a futuristic looking design, and in the middle of it, seemingly controlling it, was some...thing that looked human, with a woman's body, but the head was covered so he couldn't get a good look at it. It seemed like it was going to take off again but it met his gaze and the covered head looked towards him. "A human?" The voice, though robotic sounding, was indeed a woman's voice, but flat and emotionless.

Jaune nodded slowly and the woman eased her position slightly as it apparently studied him. After a second of silence, she responded, "We will talk after." And she shot away from him, a yellow energy blade erupting from the left arm of the metal figure and slashed away at a Nevermore as it got too close, slicing it's beak apart with ease and she almost danced over the body, cutting off the wings as well. She darted away from the wingless Nevermore as it crashed into the dirt near the two teams.

"Birdie!" Nora cried with glee as she took out Magnhild in hammer form, slamming it into the ground and launched a grenade, sending her into the sky as she squealed in glee at the prospect of destroying Grimm. She spun in circles before smashing her hammer into the Nevermore as it tried to get up, only to be forced back down. Painfully. "Birdie stay down!" The Nevermore tried again to get up, squawking as best as it could only to be met with Magnhild again. "No!" Nora repeated the word over again as she smashed it into the Nevermore's head like she was trying to beat the world's highest wack-a-mole record.

One almost felt sorry for the poor Grimm.

Jaune was hauled to his feet by Ren as Ruby and Pyrrha took out their respective weapons and started taking shots at the remaining Nevermore, all of whom were focused on the woman evading them. However, despite all that, only Jaune noticed the headmaster striding towards them calmly, a decorated book in one hand and his trademark coffee mug in the other. Jaune kept his gaze on Ozpin as he stepped beside the huntsman in training. "S-sir…?" Jaune questioned, which drew Ozpin's blank stare.

"Hello, mister Arc. I trust you are alright?" Ozpin asked casually, as if Nevermore by Beacon were common. It occurred to Jaune that no other students had come out but then he registered Ozpin's question.

"Y-Yes sir, I am! I just...can't really help much." Jaune replied sullenly, gesturing towards the flying Grimm. Ozpin chuckled flatly and held out the hand holding the book.

"I believe I can help with that. Weiss, if you would assist?" Jaune gave the man a weird look.

"Um...Weiss is over there-" Jaune jumped back, cutting himself off, startled as the book moved and lifted up from his hand.

" **I shall. It has been some time."** Jaune gaped at the book when he heard it's voice, but he backed away when it opened it's pages on it's own, floating next to Ozpin near his left shoulder. The headmaster held out an open hand, angling it towards the Grimm and started chanting in a language Jaune had never heard before. It was barely five seconds, but as soon as he finished chanting, the book glowed and five portals opened around Ozpin before they all shot out black missiles of energy with lines of runes covering them, though Jaune didn't get a very good look at them.

They shot forward, each of them targeting a single Grimm and piercing the creatures protective bone masks, shattering the heads and killing them instantly. Jaune could only watch, his mouth open in shock as the other seven stopped their offensives, looking back to see Ozpin sipping his coffee casually as the book flipped to another page. "I see time has not dulled your power, Weiss." He commented casually as the woman in the air took out yet another Grimm, leaving only two more.

" **I am happy to see I can still impress you."** The book replied proudly, but any further banter was cut short by the woman being caught off-guard by one of the Nevermore. It smacked her with a large wing as she attempted to slash it's neck, sending her flying violently towards a pillar that decorated Beacon's pathways. Jaune snapped out of his reverie and watched as she fell, and though he didn't know her, he didn't know why she wasn't righting herself, he didn't know what Ozpin was doing, he felt his body move towards where he instinctively knew she would land. He felt like an outsider, watching the events unfold from a distance rather experiencing them himself.

Without warning, Jaune charged away from beside Ozpin, Ren having gone to get Nora after pulling him up, running as fast as he could towards the pillar the mysterious woman was heading for. Sure enough, her suit crashed into the stone, causing the area above her collision point to break and fall, and he saw the metal of her suit break free and fly off in different directions before the woman herself fell away from the wreckage. She seemed to be curled in on herself, no doubt trying to minimize bodily harm of the imminent impact, but Jaune felt obligated to prevent it from happening. He ran under her and jumped up, catching the woman against his chest and in his arms, sending them both to the ground heavily, winding him as the woman was surprisingly heavy.

Panting slightly he sat up and saw one of the Nevermore ready it's wings to shoot it's feathers at the two of them. Faintly, he heard Pyrrha cry out his name, even though he knew she was closer, but he didn't acknowledge her. Instead, he adjusted their position so he held the woman's head close to his armored chest and expanded Crocea Mors' shield, holding it over the two of them. Jaune braced his arm and not a second later felt the violent slamming of several of the large feathers crashing into his heirloom, but his shield arm held firm, powered by Jaune keeping it steady with his substantial Aura. After several long seconds, the shower stopped and he peeked around the shield, seeing the three feathers that attacked his shield lay around him and the woman, but by now had shaken her disorientation.

 **XXXX**

2B shook her head, clearing the fog that clouded her mind after the knock the black bird gave her. She cursed at herself internally; she had been distracted by the lances that had killed the five other birds, which caused the attacker to have a window of opportunity. The first thing she noticed after clearing her head, however, was that her cheek was pressed gently against the cool metal of a chest plate. The second thing was the one who was wearing the armor had an interesting scent, one she couldn't quite describe at present. She blinked rapidly, clearing the thoughts from her mind and rolled out from her defender's grasp into a field of feathers, behind her was the blonde boy she had laid eyes on before.

She stood tall and summoned her one handed sword, a gold effect signifying it's arrival into her hands. 2B flicked her hand and looked up to the bird that had attacked her, the other humans that had appeared to support her stopped for a time to see if she required assistance, or perhaps just to stare. _'No matter.'_ 2B decided, and she called out to the wreckage of her flight suit. "042, status report!" Some shuffling and metal moving announced the movement of her Pod support, and it flew from the wreckage, swerving over the field towards her.

"Operational, 2B, however the flight suit is inoperable." 042 reported, settling behind her. "Alert; Pod Program 01 now authorized. Input command at will, 2B." If 2B wasn't so well disciplined, she would have grinned at the news. She knew what 01 was, and she was prepared to use it.

"Acknowledged. Fire Program 01!" She ordered, pointing at the bird that knocked her into the pillar, though it was now coming around to seemingly attack her with it's talons. _'Fool. Coming to it's own death.'_ She thought darkly as 042 darted beside her and faced the targeted creature. A second later, a black and white laser fired from the tiny floating support unit, blasting straight into and through the black bird's body lengthwise, carving a large portion of it's torso out. The bird's momentum carried it over the woman and Jaune, crashing into the ground behind them as it began to disintegrate. 042 beeped, signifying the program was in a cool-down cycle. The last bird cried in anger and dived at 2B, seemingly for revenge for it's fallen brother.

The humans that had been shooting earlier cried out in dismay and charged towards her, the boy behind her getting up to protect her, and the old man with the mysterious book stood impassively, watching the events unfold; 2B would need to watch him. As the bird grew closer, she sprinted towards the pillar she had crashed and leaped up onto it's side before launching herself off as the black creature got closer, bringing herself directly to it's head. As it opened it's mouth, 2B gripped her blade with both hands and swung downwards, cutting deep into it's mask and carving into what lie beneath. The bird reared in pain but was stopped as a large black and red hand smashed the bird into the ground before it could retaliate, the hand easily larger than the creature it flattened.

2B watched in surprise as she fell towards the ground, but was stopped by the hand as it caught her in it's palm and lowered her to the ground slowly. She shot her gaze to the origin of the hand and saw it originating from a portal near the old man and the floating book. "042, is that the energy source?" 2B whispered to her partner, and the Pod diverted it's attention to the book, scanning it carefully before flying closer to her.

"It is. Readings show it similar to an energy source that showed up previously in history." 042 reported quietly as the hand set on the grass gently, allowing 2B to step off gracefully as the hand disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, the book closing itself once it was fully gone. Despite 2B's desire to observe the book, she found herself looking directly at the dumbstruck male that had protected her while she was stunned from the crash. Looking over him, she resisted the urge to deadpan at him; it was clear the boy had read too much about fantasy knights and tried to model himself as one, if his armor and shield were anything to go by.

She put her sword away as the other humans approached at varying speeds, interestingly several of the girls ran directly to the boy on the floor, one with the red hair and amazon like armor was fussing over him instantly as his shield disappeared in on itself. 2B turned away as the others stayed a bit away, the older man with the book coming near her. She turned to face him fully, remaining ramrod straight as 042 ran more scans over him and the book, but whatever conclusions or information it obtained, it did not share it with her. The man sipped his coffee silently before addressing her, his voice devoid of any emotion except detached interest, "I apologize for the interruption, but I needed one of my students. I hope you were not hurt too badly."

Despite his verbal concern, 2B was suspicious of the man; he had already proven to be capable of incredible skills, even if his appearance showed the opposite. "I am unharmed. The boy prevented any lasting harm." She replied, just as coldly, but her tone didn't seem to faze him.

"I'm very glad to hear that. Saving people is one of mister Arc's finer points." Ozpin gestured to the boy who had a black haired girl with a red cape clinging to his arm and wailing dramatically at how he could have gotten hurt. "Ah, I forgot my manners. I am Professor Ozpin, the headmaster of Beacon Academy." He said formally, and extended a hand towards her, but 2B kept her arms at her sides.

"YoRHa No. 2, Battle type, designated as 2B." She replied, but her standoffish manner didn't seem to unnerve him, however his eyebrow did raise slightly.

"YoRHa, hmm? It seems much has changed, Weiss." He turned his head slightly towards the book, which responded, something that set 2B on edge.

" **It would appear so. Something tells me your plan did work in some fashion."** Ozpin nodded and sipped his coffee again, seeming to agree non-verbally with the talking book. He turned his gaze back to the android, his eyes behind his spectacles steeled.

"It will take some explanation, and you want answers. It so happens I can provide them. If you would come with me." He gestured towards the castle and turned towards it, calling out behind him to the other humans, seemingly not caring to see if 2B followed him or not. "Oh, and mister Arc? I would like to see you in my office in an hour. Please don't stray too far."

Jaune paled as Ozpin called to him, the silver haired, black clad woman following him. Now that the battle, if it could really be called that, was over, he couldn't help but tear his eyes off of her for some reason, but he was forced too as Pyrrha untangled Ruby's arms from his. "Are you sure you're fine, Jaune?" Her voice was laden with concern and her eyes were filled with….something else, he couldn't quite figure out.

"Yeah Pyrrha I'm fine, just...nervous. You don't think Ozpin found out...do you?" Jaune asked nervously, clearly upset if his false transcripts had been found, though he was unaware that Ozpin knew about them the moment he was given them. Weiss, who had run over at the same time as Ruby and Pyrrha, huffed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I doubt it, Arc. If it took him two years, he wouldn't bring it up by now. You've improved too much." Jaune blushed as Weiss spoke, they had patched up their rather awkward and bad start and had become good enough friends, although Pyrrha seemed to be more...catty, he thought was the word, whenever she was around.

"U-Um...t-thanks Weiss." Jaune stuttered in response, and the heiress shot him a beautiful smile in return, showing she was being genuine, but the moment was soon cut short by Pyrrha who cleared her throat.

"I think we should ask ourselves what it was that Ozpin did. I don't recall any sort of Dust manipulation like that, and it certainly wasn't his Semblance." Pyrrha and Weiss glared at each other subtly, though only Ruby and the others who were approaching saw it, as Jaune looked at the flattened Nevermore. The others joined them and more debate started about it (Nora swore he was an all knowing, all powerful genocide space wizard god, but swiftly shut up when Ren threatened to cut her pancake intake), but Jaune was silent through it all.

The spears that killed the five Nevermore, the giant hand...they all reminded him of dreams he had. They were vague and hazy when he tried to recall them, but he recognized the book Ozpin had with him somehow, and he could scarcely recall a name that sent pangs of sorrow and guilt into his heart. _'Who is Emil…?'_ Every time he asked himself, the sorrow tugged at his heartstrings, as if begging him to remember, that it was someone important to him, but he couldn't recall any reason or person with that name.

Inside Beacon, Grimoire Weiss stopped and turned slightly down the corridor Ozpin and 2B had been walking. Ozpin looked over, but said nothing when he felt grief coming from the book, and he could very well guess why. _'The woes of the Project...if only I had the hindsight then.'_

 **And I'm stopping here. Cliffhanger whoo! Except not really, except it is. Two layers of me fucking with your mind! Stereo fucking!**

 **Okay, I really need to not write my author's notes so late at night after work. I've been playing a bit more of Automata, and I'm really liking it, although I hate the internet since ending has been spoiled to me, and I'm upset for several reasons. BUT NOT A PROBLEM! This game is going to have very little canonically linking it to the events of Automata, it's going to be more of a weird mix between NieR Gestalt, NieR RepliCant (which I just ordered on Amazon, much obliged internet), and RWBY. There are going to be places and enemies from all parts, but I haven't decided quite yet how I'm going to go about that. I have several ideas but they all have their pros and cons, but several cameos will occur, such as the very sad character that was mentioned in this chapter.**

 **So, what did you guys think? Not very good at writing big action sequences or fights, so hopefully I got my point across enough. Review if you want, let me know what you thought, and I'll see you guys later, peace!**


	3. PSA!

**Hello everyone!**

 **It's been a long while since either of my stories have been updated, I know. Well, my laptop that I was using got a nasty virus on it around summer last year, no idea how exactly, but it completely wrecked it. I haven't been able to get on a computer to update at all to let you guys know what was going on, and moving around as much as I have hasn't made it any easier. Hopefully, now, I can update at least a little better since a roommate has given me access to their laptop for writing and playing on Roll20 with some friends.**

 **Anyway, just letting you guys know what's up, why I haven't been updating this past year, and to let y'all know that I am now able to start again. It'll be a few days before the next chapter of "The trouble with mistletoe" is updated, and "RWBY Automata" should be updated later on this week if not next week. All I ask is a little patience in the meanwhile and I want to profusely thank everyone who's read, followed and favorited, it's very much appreciated!**

 **Praising the Sun all day every day,**

 **Umbreonwriter**


	4. Chapter 4

**And now I am back to once again try and merge RWBY and NieR Automata after my, I would say, botched attempt from before. But let's keep going with this train wreck, we ride together we die together baby! It's been awhile since I really thought of where I wanted to go with this but given recent events in RWBY, I have a fairly decent idea of what I want to do. Keep in mind that this is going to be very complicated of how both universes work together but I'll explain it in an A/N next chapter if I get questions about what I mean.**

 **Here we go!**

2B stood ramrod straight as Ozpin was seated at his desk, Grimoire Weiss floating nearby in the air. The headmaster sipped his coffee as he ruminated on what admittedly little information 2B had willingly given him, and what information he had weaseled out of her. _'How curious that YorHa would be here as well. Oh Salem what are you up to?'_ Ozpin thought sardonically to himself. Looking up at the blindfolded android, he addressed her directly. "To reiterate: YorHa's androids have a standing mission to protect all humans and to fight against humanity's enemies yet when you were woken from your stasis, the station you were on was destroyed and located on the fragments of the moon. You left the station on the hunt for a mysterious signature which turned out to be dear Grimoire Weiss here, correct?" Ozpin asked, merely for clarification and gesturing to the floating book as he mentioned it. The android nodded swiftly, her demeanor reminding Ozpin of Ironwood.

"Correct. However the geography of the world is vastly different from any maps my Pod has access to, making navigation different." Ozpin nodded, he had anticipated as much as soon as he realized what she was.

"I can provide a reason for that, however it will conflict with information you have available." 2B nodded before he continued, "To start, this isn't Earth, despite any similarities, but instead Remnant. Atmosphere and environment are much the same as Earth used to be, and you have already been introduced to our world's biggest threat, the Grimm. They come in many shapes, sizes and abilities, and your first encounter with them were a flock of Nevermore. They are spawned by and drawn to negative emotions emitted by humans, but their ultimate source is...a matter of some mystery." Ozpin desperately tried to remain as vague as possible on this point. 2B stood silent as she silently let the information process before speaking.

"How did the Grimm first come to being? There is no historical record of them, nor any reference made to something like them." Ozpin cursed silently, this wasn't a subject he wanted to discuss, certainly not until his suspicions were either validated or proven false.

"There is no clear answer to that, all sources contradict each other and are either rooted in conspiracy, myth, superstition, or scientific theory." Ozpin could tell she was getting suspicious of him, and he needed some way to direct that attention elsewhere. "What is your current mission, if I may?" 2B hesitated before answering.

"My mission is, as always, to serve and protect mankind from it's foes. And as the Grimm are threatening mankind as a whole, my mission is clearer than it has ever been before." 2B's voice was firm, even if Ozpin could tell she was hesitant on fighting the Grimm without backup. The headmaster leaned back in his chair, and took a sip of his coffee before looking over to Grimoire Weiss.

"Weiss, have you found out what has made the rift appear now?" The Grimoire remained silent for half a minute before deciding to reply, his voice heavy with caution.

" **I have, and it is as we both predicted.** " In that moment Ozpin was glad Weiss had some sense of subtlety, though outwardly he sighed in displeasure.

"2B, I would like to give you another mission. One more suited to you, and perhaps more useful to mankind as a whole." Ozpin left the last bit hanging while 2B remained unmoved, her blindfold masking the majority of her features, making gauging her reactions difficult. After several seconds of silence, she finally responded.

"And what mission is that?"

Ozpin stood up from his desk and took out his Scroll, pulling up a relatively old blueprint of Beacon, the only complete blueprint that remained, to his knowledge. "Beneath Beacon, there lies a special vault, one that holds some of the most important things in Remnant. Including the rift that brought you into our world." 2B stiffened at his words.

"Rift? What do you-" Her words were interrupted by Ozpin holding up his hand.

"It is a tear that formed between our world and several others. Entering into this rift allows travel between these worlds, however...you cannot control which world you enter." Ozpin explained carefully. "At least, you cannot control it without a Grimoire." Ozpin nodded to his long time companion, which bobbed slightly in acknowledgement. "As for the mission, you will need to enter the rift. Inside one of these worlds is what is keeping the rift open, and you will need to either retrieve or destroy it in order to close the rift."

"What am I looking for then?" Frustration permeated 2B's voice, though she tried to keep a tight lid on it. Ozpin took yet another sip of his coffee before answering carefully.

"I do not know. It could be any significant in these worlds, however Grimoire Weiss will know what the object is once he sees it. Beyond that, your guess is as good as mine." Ozpin replied simply. "If you do go however, you will be traveling with one other." This caught the android's attention, though Ozpin still couldn't tell if it was curiosity or annoyance at having someone hanging off her. _'Well, Arc has certainly improved by all accounts. Perhaps this will help him get better.'_ "Do you accept?"

2B placed a hand over her heart, a form of salute if Ozpin had to guess. "My mission is to protect mankind. Regardless of where that takes me, I will uphold that mission until I am no longer functional." Admirable, if a bit too much so. There was such a thing as too much loyalty, after all. Ozpin nodded and gestured behind her.

"Please, meet me outside my room. I will lead you to the vault." 2B nodded and left immediately, her Pod following close behind. It was only after the door clicked shut that Ozpin took out his Scroll and accessed his contact list, pulling up Glynda's name. It only took her a few seconds to answer, a trait Ozpin was often grateful for.

 _"Ozpin? What is it?"_ She wasn't expecting a call from him, apparently, and why should she? She wasn't aware entirely of what was going on after all.

"I need you to get Jaune Arc and bring him to my office. As quick as possible, of course."

 _"Understood. I shouldn't be more than five minutes."_ Ozpin thanked her and ended the call, pocketing his Scroll with a heavy sigh.

 **"Age catching up with you?"** Weiss questioned, a smirk in his voice evident.

"I am not dead yet, old friend. I am still not done with my goal." Ozpin replied wearily, turning to face the window. "And no matter how close I always think I am, my goal is always still so far out of reach."

 **Fucking finally. I tore this chapter apart three times because I didn't want certain things explained, but other things needed to be in a vague way and just RAAAAAAH! Anyway, I'm going to sit on this story for a bit, work it out a bit more so I know what I'm working towards better. Just a matter of getting my story from point A, to point C, since point B is still a bit of a sticking point.**

 **Anyway, to those wondering when 2B and Jaune are going to be getting fluffy together, all I can say is: It's gonna be a while. Just hang tight.**

 **Thanks for everyone whose been patient with this story, and thank you for reading.**


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